Reporter’s diary: When misidentification opened new doors

There was a small review meeting of DPI officials in connection with education department. This correspondent, who was there to collect some information with regard to smart card identification scheme, was invited to the reviewmeeting by an official thinking he also has official authority. The reporter, who was bewildered by the sudden invitation, thought the governmenthas become more transparent by calling media persons to its internal meeting.

However, it was not the case. Once the reporter was “allowed” to sit, he could not find any of his other organisation counterparts. When the meeting was about to start, a paper was circulated. Accordingly, the paper had to be signed by the officials, who attend the meeting by also registering their name and designation. Finally, it was the reporter’s turn to sign the paper. Then, it was realised that due to misidentity, the reporter was allowed inside the hall. Authorities were polite enough to say that the meeting was official and reporters could not come inside. Though it was an embarrassing experience, the reporter could not understand how he was misidentified.